Adventures in Japan

Day the First: Miyazaki

Last night was a late one. There was a bit of a Sayonara party for us at K-108, the bar where K-106 plays every week. They played last night. I danced like a goon whilst Carla was all social and said our goodbyes to plenty of awesome folks. A few of those awesome folks stayed around and closed the place down with us. We then hung out some more.

Carla and I caught a little over an hour's worth of sleep and then headed off to the bus stop. Michiko met us there. She rocks, I hope I have mentioned this before. She rode on the bus with us to the airport. We said our goodbyes and got on the plane and fell asleep. We woke up in Miyazaki. We woke up to palm trees and a cool breeze. Nice start to our vacation.

We ditched our heavy bags at our hotel and explored a bit.

There is a Cafe Restaurant Gusto right near us. That is where we ate our breakfast.

Cafe Restaurant Gusto is different than Gusto Restaurant Skylark. Skylark has a hamburg steak that has a soft boiled egg in the middle that bleeds yolk when you cut into it. I'm sorry I never got to try that.

After breakfast we went to the science centre. At the science centre there is a planetarium. Never been to a planetarium? It is a big dark room with reclining seats that plays calming music as stars and such move slowly across the domed roof. I kept nodding off.

After that we did... everything. We basically had run of the place. There were no kids at all. A science centre without kids is way more fun, but also oddly spooky. The highlight? Doing a puzzle of Carla's face as she did one of mine, our faces both moving in real time as we did so. Being ravaged by a giant squid was a close second.

After the science centre we figured we should grab some lunch before we headed out to the Peace Tower and Haniwa Garden. That was a huge mistake. Y'see Theo, we weren't sure if there would be any food near the tower or the park. We have been to many points of interest in this country that have been totally bereft of acceptable sustenance.

If you are ever in Miyazaki, do not worry about the lack of food near the Peace Tower/Haniwa Garden. There is no lack, there are loads. An all you can eat lunch place, an organic restaurant, and a cafe/craft shop that looked to provide some decent grub all await you there. Considering how lacklustre our in-town lunch was, we were a little rueful seeing the abundance out there.

This is where Carla should take over because I know nothing about what we saw today. Just a sec: I'll google 'em.

"Peace Tower -- Built in 1940 in celebration of the 2,600th anniversary of the mythological foundation of Japan; it purportedly contains artifacts that once belonged to the first emperor. Its pedestal is made with stones donated by Japanese expatriates from all over the world, while its copper door was created with coins donated by Japanese children. It may seem ironic that a peace tower was erected at a time when Japan was busy colonizing much of Asia; the intention was to show that the world could live peaceably, albeit with Japan as leader. Figures on the tower depict the guardians of fishery, agriculture, self-defense, and commerce."

Yeah. What he said. Also, if you stand at a certain point in front of the steps up to the tower and clap, you get a strange souping echo. Kinda cool. Had no idea it was so recently built.

"Haniwa Garden -- Archaeological digs in Miyazaki Prefecture have unearthed a multitude of ancient burial mounds and clay figures known as haniwa; replicas of these ancient mounds and haniwa clay figures can be seen in Haniwa Garden, where approximately 400 of the figures have been placed between trees on mounds covered with moss. There are warriors, horses, pigs, boats, and houses. There is also a haniwa with the simple face and body and the O-shaped mouth; it's said to represent a dancing woman."

Those little things are cute and freaky and cool.

After that, we grabbed some locally brewed beer and chilled out.

After the garden we made our way back into town and checked into our room. Then we went out to walk along the river. Very scenic. After that, we went out to find some local grub. Some examples of local Miyazaki cuisine: cheese wrapped in pastry, chicken cooked in some unknown black sauce, and lightly battered and fried chicken with a light vinegar sauce then drowned in tartar sauce. Instead, we ate at Cafe Gusto again. We didn't even use our coupon.

It is now almost two in the morning. I didn't even have to worry about uploading pictures. Man. I need slepp. And sleep.

G'night.